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History of Woodbridge Township
Adapted from Leon McElroy's Materials
WOODBRIDGE, N / 07095
WOODBRIDGE HIGH SCHOOL 1955
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THIS BOOK IS THE PROPERTY OF
The Town of Woodbridge
Book No. 12/
THE PUPIL to whom this book is loaned will be held responsible for its careful use, and its return in good condition.
IT MUST NOT be defaced, and, if injured or lost, must be paid for by the pupil.
PERMISSION must be obtained from the teacher before taking it from the school-room.
Book No. 121 Cost
DATE LOANED
PUPIL'S NAME
anthony Tyler
J. L. Hammett Company, Publishers
Introduction
This History of Woodbridge Township, prepared by some of the personnel of the educational staff of Woodbridge High School, will be a most valuable addition to the course of study offerings in the social science curriculum.
Grateful acknowledgment is made to those whose names appear in the Foreword who were responsible for the preparation of this history.
May returns in a greater civic pride and a deeper respect for the traditions of the Township of Woodbridge bring each person who contributed to this history a partial reward for his contribution.
VICTOR C. NICKLAS
Superintendent of Schools
Woodbridge, New Jersey August 15, 1955
Foreword
This History of Woodbridge Township is condensed from the writings of Mr. Leon E. McElroy, who considerately permitted this adap- tation from his "Woodbridge in the 19th Century," for use with the social science classes at Woodbridge High School.
We are very appreciative of this generous demonstration of civic- mindedness on the part of Mr. McElroy, who has allowed us to quote verbatim from his manuscript.
Grateful acknowledgment is made also to Miss Alida van Slyke, head of the English Department, who read the abstraction and made valuable suggestions concerning the nature and contents of the material, and to Mr. James Brown of the Social Science Department, who adapted the manuscript for classroom purposes.
JOHN P. LOZO, Principal
MARTHA J. MORROW, Head Social Science Department
FREE PUBLIC LIBRARY OF WOODBRIDGE MAIN LIBRARY GEORGE FREDERICK PLAZA WOODBRIDGE, N. J. 07095
History of Woodbridge
The Township of Woodbridge is the oldest original Township in the State of New Jersey. It was settled in the early autumn of 1665 and was granted a charter by King Charles of England on June 1, 1669. The charter, after describing the boundaries of the settlement, provided that the "township called by the name of Woodbridge shall consist of at least 60 families and as many more as they shall think fit"; "that the freeholders or a majority of them have power to choose their own magistrates and justices of the peace and their military officers." The freeholders were also given power "by the plurality of voices to choose their own ministers" and being so chosen all persons should contribute toward their maintenance, in addition to which two hundred acres of upland and meadow were allocated for the use of a minister. Provi- sions were also made for one hundred acres more for the maintenance of a free school. All lands so chartered were exempt from taxes, The charter further provided that "notwithstanding it shall and may be lawful for any one of the said freeholders and inhabitants aforesaid that are of a judgment in matter of religions to maintain any other minister at their own cost and charges without being molested or dis- turbed for the same.")The township was also given power to erect and ordain its own courts for the trial of civil and criminal matters; no person was to be deprived of his right to a trial by jury. 1
In matters of religion and the worship of God, the charter pro- vided "there is liberty of conscience granted to all persons as well as to the freeholders and to all others that are or shall be admitted inhabi- tants within the said corporation or township they taking or subscribing to the oath of allegiance to the king, and fidelity to the lords proprietors. The charter provides for an allowance of free trade with restrictions against the imposition of a customs tax unless levied by the Governor, Council, and General Assembly, that in case of invasion or insurrection the inhabitants will join with other towns in the province for the defense. and safety of the same; that the inhabitants will elect two deputies to the General Assembly for the making of laws; that in case any one of the inhabitants has a desire to remove and transplant himself to any other place, he has liberty so to do and to dispose of his estates and land to his best advantage. This then was one of the earliest bills of rights granted in the Province of New Jersey which one of New Jersey's historians rightfully refers to as "one of the most liberal ever given in America." 2.
The original boundaries of Woodbridge comprised the communi- ties we now know as Carteret, Rahway, New Dover, Oak Tree, Bonham- town, Metuchen, Milton, Avenel, Colonia, Iselin, Menlo Park, Fords, Hopelawn, Keasbey, Sewaren, Port Reading, the eastern part of Rari- tan Township, and Woodbridge proper.
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In the main, the original settlers came from England by way of Massachusetts and Long Island. In the closing months of the summer of 1665, Philip Carteret, having been appointed Governor of New Jersey, settled at Elizabethtown, which he made the seat of his government. He dispatched agents into New England for the purpose of inviting im- migrants to settle in the province. Many accepted the invitation, and several persons came from Newbury, Mass., to settle in Woodbridge. Of these immigrants from Newbury, some returned while others re- mained and became distinguished both in civil and military life. Among those who remained were Captain John Pike, the ancestor of General Zebulon M. Pike, who was killed in Canada in 1812; Thomas Bloomfield, the ancestor of Joseph Bloomfield, for twelve years the Governor of New Jersey; John Bishop, Sr .; John Bishop, Jr .; Jonathan Haynes, Henry Jaques, Stephen Kent, Abraham Tappan, Elisha Ilsley (Inslee), Samuel Morre, John Ilsley (Inslee), and others.
Dally in his history of Woodbridge records that it was so called in honor of Rev. John Woodbridge of Newbury, Mass,. This reference, which is probably in error, was accepted by Dally from the his- torian of Newbury. The Rev. Woodbridge is never recorded as having been in New Jersey and is known to have spent much time in England. The emigrants to Woodbridge were Puritans who were naturally strict adherents of the customs in force in the New England Colony of Massa- chusetts, where the General Court at an early date disposed of the matter of naming towns by ordering the naming of English towns in New England. Most often the settlers requested permission to use the name of a place where some of them had lived in England.
Many of th early settlers of Woodbridge came from Suffolk County, England, about 68 miles northeast of London and in the vicinity of Ipswich. Located about eight miles from Ipswich is the market town of Woodbridge in the parliamentary division of Suffolk, England. History records that Thomas Bloomfield came from Woodbridge, Eng- land, to Woodbridge, New Jersey, by way of Newbury, Mass. He acquired in 1665 from the Lords Proprietors a large tract of land. Tradition has it that Thomas Bloomfield sailed up Papiack Creek with his family and debarked at a point located between the road to Sewaren and the road to Port Reading. He is known to have possessed a nine acre meadow on the west side of the creek near the upland called Bloomfield's Landing.
Thus it can be accepted that because of the Puritan tradition as exemplified by the Massachusetts General Court, Woodbridge derived its name from its English namesake.
The story of Woodbridge in the 19th century can well parallel the advancement made in the progress of our infant nation; Not that it was by virtue of such advancement destined to greatness, but that it kept pace with the times even though the contributions of its citizens were meager. From its very beginning in 1665, its residents rallied to the call of constituted authority to repel the invasions of any infrac- tions of the liberties of its people or the country; so we find Woodbridge
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always represented in the armed forces from the time of the "unde- clared war" on France at Tripoli to the present day.
SLAVERY
Slavery probably existed in Woodbridge Township shortly after its settlement. The early records reveal that land was allotted to fifty-seven of the original settlers in acreage ranging from 15 acres to 512 acres a person. Most of this land was devoted to farming pursuits requiring help in the fields, even in those days referred to as planta- tions. In addition, domestic help in the homes was needed.
There is to be found in the "Concessions and Agreement" of the Land Proprietors, Berkley and Carteret, 1664, a mention of slaves as a basis for the allotment of land to their owners; Woodbridge came under that agreement. There were also to be found redemptioners of many classes and kinds who were sold on arrival by ship at Perth Amboy and whose purchase price was used to pay their passages. Until they had worked out their passage money redemptioners served as slaves under the Proprietors. By 1738 the number of slaves in New Jersey was 3,981.
During the last quarter of the 18th century the agitation for the abolition of slavery took root in New Jersey. As early as 1696 the Quakers recommended that their members cease from further importa- tion of slaves.
What may be said to be the first anti-slavery meeting ever held in the United States was held in Woodbridge on the 4th of July, 1783, seven years after the Declaration of Independence and six years be- fore George Washington was inaugurated as President of the United States. This meeting was held on the farm of Moses Bloomfield, a surgeon in the Continental Army, located north of Freeman Street where Barron Avenue runs through Prospect. Great preparations were made for the event which had been freely advertsed in the neighbor- ing communities. An ox was roasted whole, and a vast crowd as- sembled to listen to the orator of the day, Dr. Bloomfield. At the appointed time, Dr. Bloomfield mounted the platform, followed by his slaves, fourteen in number, who took their places on each side of him, while he addressed the multitude on the evil of slavery. At the close of the speech, Dr. Bloomfield turned to his slaves, stating that, inas- much as we as a nation had declared that all men had a right to freedom, he could not consistently undo the principles of the Declaration of Independence by holding slaves. He ended his speech with the announcement, "From this day they are free." Tradition has it that each of the slaves freed that day continued to labor for the venerable doctor but for adequate compensation.
New Jersey, in 1818, had attempted by legislation to curb the traffic in slaves, but despite this law the "underground railroad" had opened in New Jersey without fanfare. It was not until the passage of the Federal "Fugitive Slave Law" of 1850, which brought slavery to the front as an important issue, that the "underground" was seriously
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considered. This law provided that United States Commissioners could surrender a colored man or woman to anyone who claimed the negro as a slave; that the negro could not give testimony; "commanded" citizens to aid the slave hunters somewhat as a sheriff's posse would search for an escaped murderer; and sought to destroy the under- ground railroad by prescribing a fine and punishment for those who harbored runaway slaves or prevented their recapture. Philadelphia seemed to be the center for escaping negroes. At this point converged a number of routes leading to Quaker farm houses along the Maryland border. From there, across the Delaware River into New Jersey, the slaves were sent under the care of trusted agents, whose most active supporters were Quakers. Once across the river, the slave was sent on his journey at night, generally to Canada, resting by day in barns, cellars, and in the woods. When the sun went down, the slave emerged and started across New Jersey by different marked routes. The prin- cipal route, known as "Number 1", passed through Woodbridge Township.
When the New Jersey Constitution of 1844 was adopted, it was throught that slavery had at last been abolished; but the State Courts had ruled that the relationship of master and slave existed by law when the Constitution of 1844 was adopted and that the Constitution did not destroy that relationship; neither did it abolish slavery nor did it affect the laws in relation thereto existing at the time of its adoption. The immediate effect of this decision led to the enactment of a law approved April 6, 1846, declaring slavery as such was abolished, but the old slaves were held to service.
IMMIGRATION
When Perth Amboy was settled, it was the hope of the proprietors that it would be developed as the principal seaport or port of entry in the colonies. It made a proud bid with New York for the honor. In the early days of settlement it teemed with shipping activity. Strange as it may seem to the observer of today, the Port of Perth Amboy wel- comed thousands of immigrants from Scotland, Ulster, England, and Germany during the period from 1682 until immediately before the War of 1812, numbered among whom were many "redemptioners." These persons, having no money with which to pay their passage and anxious to reach America, sold their services for a term of years. In New Jersey, redemptioners, when their term of service was out, were usually given 50 acres of land to cultivate in their own right and, there- after, became free citizens.
Many of the immigrants who arrived in 1837, settled in this vicinity. It was during the period in 1854 that the Irish and German element settled in Perth Amboy, Woodbridge Township, and Rahway. These hardy people contributed much to the advancement of their communities. The majority of those settling in this vicinity were em- ployed in the clay mines and in the brick factories of Woodbridge Township.
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Immigration to this country was periodic and in spurts. Probably the last great exodus from the British Isles to the United States was in 1873. In this year many more immigrants chose the Township for their residence.
It was not until 1896, however, that the other countries of Europe, especially those of Poland, Austria-Hungary, and Italy began to ar- rive on our shores in large numbers. Many Hungarians settled in the Township of Woodbridge during this period finding employment in the extensive clay mines and the many brick factories. A great number of these Hungarian immigrants had served in the army of their country before their arrival in America. It was not uncommon for the residents of Woodbridge around the turn of the century to wit- ness them arriving wearing the familiar military boots, the short jacket, and the hat with the feather.
TRANSPORTATION
Prior to 1800, the only roads used for travel through the township were King George's Highway leading from the Raritan River at New Brunswick through Bonhamtown; the Sand Hills and Fords to Amboy Avenue at Main Street; a road from Perth Amboy now known as Am- boy Avenue and St. Georges Avenue, to Newark, referred to in the early part of the 19th century as the back or country road to Eliza- bethtown; a road extending westerly from Rahway Avenue, now Green Street, commonly referred to as the road to Uniontown (Iselin); a road beginning at the mouth of the Papiack (Woodbridge) Creek northwesterly through Sewaren and Port Reading to the Blazing Star Road near Rahway, now known as part of West Avenue; and the Old Road in Sewaren and Blair Road in Port Reading.
The Township of Woodbridge, situated then as now, was in a direct line between Philadelphia and New York. Travel by road prior to 1800 was arduous, long and tedious. As travel and trade- in- creased between these two important centers, the demand for im- proved roads became more insistent; and finally the argument that "every person ought to contribute to the roads in proportion to the use he makes or the benefit he derives from them" found favor in New Jersey, and the toll or turnpike era began. Between 1801 and the coming of the railroad era in 1830, many turnpike roads were char- tered. An estimated 550 miles of this type road were laid. In re- sorting to the pike road, the settlers here were only bringing into ex- istence an institution developed earlier in England.
No road in the early days of the 19th century was safe for the drivers of the mail coach or its passengers. This vicinity was no exception to the rule. On February 1, 1819, at three in the morning outside of Rahway on the turnpike road to Elizabethtown, The U. S. Mail Coach was stopped by three masked and armed men. Two of them seized the horses by their heads, while the third pressed a pistol to the driver's breast and ordered him off his box, threatening to kill him in case of resistance. Cutting the traces to loose the horses one
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of the robbers placed himself at the door of the coach menacing the life of the six passengers by demanding and obtaining their money and valuables. On completing this, they ransacked the mail and selected such packages as they chose and made off. Following the report of the robbery, the postmaster at New York offered a reward of $1,000 for their apprehension and conviction. Several days later, two of the robbers were caught in New York. A week later the third member, a Frenchman who had served in Napoleon's army, was arrested at Lancaster, Pa. All three were tried in April, 1819, at Tren- ton, convicted, and sentenced to ten years at hard labor. A similar robbery took place several years later in August, 1826, at the Essex and Metuchen Turnpike near Metuchen.
On February 28, 1827, the Legislature of Maryland chartered the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, America's pioneer railroad and the old- est in the United States in the point of continuous ervice. In that same year, efforts were made in the New Jersey Legislature to permit the operation of railroads. Petitions were presented to the Legislature for railroads from Trenton to New Brunswick; from Camden to Amboy; from Easton to Elizabethport; and from Trenton to Easton. Efforts had also been made to permit the construction of a canal between the Delaware and Raritan Rivers. On November 6, 1827, James Parker of Middlesex County presented a report to the Assembly recommend- ing its construction by the State and introduced a bill to that effect. The canal bill was passed, but the railroad bill was not. The canal bill, however, was defeated in the Council.
Those interested in the Camden-Amboy project, however, came right back at the legislative sessions in November, 1828, with another petition from the inhabitants of the State; and on January 17, 1829, the bill was reprinted in the Assembly, read a second time, and was en- grossed on January 29. When a vote for passage was taken on February 13, the bill was again defeated in the Assembly. On Feb- ruary 17, a vote was taken on the canal bill, which passed the As- sembly. On January 7, 1830, a bill to establish the Camden-Amboy Railroad was again introduced in the Assembly, which body on Jan- uary 28 finally passed it. The canal bill passed in the Assembly on the same day. Both bills were sent to the Council where on February 4, 1830, they were both passed. And so the first railroad and canal in the State of New Jersey were projected.
In March, 1832, the railroad that was to serve this part of Middlesex County was established and until 1870 was to be known as "The New Jersey Railroad and Transportation Company." One of its original incorporators was William Edgar of Woodbridge Township. The incorporators were authorized to lay out, construct, and improve a railroad not exceeding 66 feet in width, with as many sets of tracks as deemed necessary: from a convenient point in the City of New Brunswick through or near the villages of Rahway and Woodbridge and within one mile of the market house in Elizabethtown; through Newark by the most practical route; and thence over the bridge cross-
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ing the Hackensack and Passaic Rivers to some convenient point not less than 50 feet from high water mark at Jersey City. This is over the present route of the Pennsylvania Railroad from New Brunswick to Jersey City.
On December 5, 1835, the N. J. R. R. & T. Company was opened to Elizabethtown by a trial run from Jersey City with the locomotive "Newark" and four passenger cars containing stockholders of the com- pany and the township committee of Newark, numbering one hundred. The trip on this train was made from Jersey City to Newark at the rate of one mile in three minutes and from Newark to Elizabethtown in fifteen minutes. Regular train service to Elizabethtown was inaugurated on December 21, 1835. The fare between that place and Jersey City was twenty-five cents.
On July 7, 1836, the N. J. R. R. & T. Company was completed to the east bank of the Raritan River directly opposite the city of New Brunswick. On that day a trial run of thirteen cars attached to the locomotive "New Brunswick" was made. The directors and invited guests were received by the Common Council of New Brunswick and elegantly entertained. The Common Council and a large number of citizens of New Brunswick then accompanied the directors to Newark where the greatest cordiality and good feeling prevailed. An address had been delivered at New Brunswick by Cornelius Hardenburgh, to which reply was made by General Darcy, the president of the com- pany. Following the custom of the company, a hundred or more ladies of New Brunswick, at the invitation of the directors, enjoyed an excursion to Newark on Saturday, July 10. General train service be- tween East Brunswick and New York was inaugurated on July 11, 1836. On July 30, 1836, many people traveled over the road from New York, Newark, and Elizabethtown to New Brunswick to attend the Rutgers commencement.
In 1854, the Central Railroad of New Jersey had experimented with an engine converted from the woodburning type to that of coal for generating steam. This experiment proved so successful that on February 24, 1855, the locomotive "Phoenix" of the N. J. R. R. & T. Com- pany, which arranged to burn coal, staged a trial run from Jersey City to Elizabeth with one passenger coach. The experiment proved suc- cessful, so changes were contemplated to convert all engines on the line from woodburners to coalburners.
It was in the Legislature of 1855 that Senator Ralph C. Stults of Middlesex introduced a bill to incorporate the Perth Amboy and Wood- bridge Railroad Company. Two prior attempts to extend a railroad from Rahway to Perth Amboy had ended in failure. The branch we know today in Woodbridge was finally conceived on March 9, 1855, when the State Senate passed a bill to incorporate the railroad. The attempts to construct the road met with setbacks, for it was not until October, 1864, that the railroad was finally opened for traffic.
Aid from the N. J. R. R. & T. Company had been promised, provided a right of way could be obtained. This was finally agreed upon after
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some haggling. In the late summer of 1860, a plea was made for an additional $5,000 stock subscription when the N. J. R. R. & T. Company agreed to go ahead with construction.
In 1861, an application was made for a new railroad from Perth Amboy to Elizabethport. A bill, which was introduced in the Assembly February 26, granted a charter to the Middlesex and Union R. R. Com- pany. It was said that this railroad was advocated by the Camden and Amboy because it would extend their road from South Amboy to the Hudson River. New Jersey R. R. & T. opposed it because it would be in direct competition with the Perth Amboy and Woodbridge R. R. which that company had agreed to construct. The bill passed both houses of the Legislature. It was the intention, according to the talk of the day, that this railroad would be a river road and run along the shore and over the meadows adjacent to Staten Island Sound to Eliza- bethport. This road was to be begun within three years from January 1, 1862, and to be completed and in operation within ten years of that date.
In 1871, the Camden & Amboy and all the smaller railroads in the State controlled by them together with the Delaware & Raritan Canal and the Philadelphia & Trenton Railroad Company with all their in- terests, were leased to the Pennsylvania Railroad for nine hundred and ninety-nine years. The N. J. R. R. & T. Company passed into the hands of the Pennsylvania system on February 27, 1867, which with the earlier consolidation of the capital stock of the Camden & Amboy and the Philadelphia & Trenton, led to a new company called the United New Jersey Railroad and Canal Company. These three companies, together with the Philadelphia-Trenton Railroad, on June 30, 1871, ex- ecuted to the Pennsylvania Railroad Company a nine hundred and ninety-nine year lease which lease was validated March 27, 1873. In this manner began the history of the Pennsylvania Railroad in New Jersey.
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